The Queensland government is offering a grant of $10,000 to anyone who builds or buys a new house in Queensland before January 31 2012. This offer is for new homes to be built, investment properties or existing properties valued at under $600,000.

The offer isn’t only available to the purchase of one property but can be applied to multiple purchases.

While the state government has offered this sweetener to try and boost the declining property and construction industry it is also taking with the other hand by increasing stamp duty for homeowners who change residences. If this cancels out the positive gain from the building boost grant then only time will tell. The construction industry certainly needs a boost at the moment but whether the short term fix of $10,000 will prevent house prices sliding any further remains to be seen.